Audit Report on the Safety of the Department of Parks and Recreation’s Public Swimming Pools

Executive Summary

We conducted this audit to determine whether the New York City (City) Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) operates and maintains outdoor public swimming pools in a manner that ensures the safety of pool patrons. DPR is responsible for operating outdoor swimming pools in City parks. DPR’s Pool Mission is to maintain a safe and clean water recreation environment for all New Yorkers and to preserve and improve the infrastructure of the pools, pool decks, filter plants, and all surrounding areas.

During the pool season, DPR pool staff inspect pool facilities on a daily basis, before the pools open, to ensure that there is an adequate inventory of lifesaving equipment and supplies, that necessary signs are posted, and that the conditions of the facilities and the pool are adequate. If a condition is in need of repair and a skilled tradesperson is needed to perform the repair, pool staff record the issue in DPR’s Asset Management Parks System (AMPS) to generate a work order.

Filter Plant Operators (FPOs) are responsible for maintaining the quality of the pool water to ensure that it is not irritating to the eyes and skin and safe for swimming. FPOs must test the water, take any necessary corrective steps if the water quality is not found to be at an acceptable level, and enter the results of the chlorine and pH readings into the FPO Daily Report of Operations (FPO Report). In addition to the chemical readings, the FPO must record other information, such as the weather, the air temperature, and flow meter readings.

During the summer, the City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Division of Environmental Health completes a Bathing Facility Inspection Report (DOHMH Inspection Report) for every outdoor pool at least once each summer pool season. The DOHMH Inspection Report includes information on the facility’s pools and, if applicable, the violations each facility or pool received, which DOHMH Inspectors categorize as Critical Items or General Items. DPR staff must log into AMPS all DOHMH health code violations that require the services of a skilled tradesperson.

During the 2019 outdoor summer pool season, which covered the period from June 27, 2019 through September 8, 2019, DPR operated 77 outdoor swimming pools at 50 locations. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were restrictions and limitations put in place during the 2020 outdoor summer pool season. The season was shortened and ran for the period from July 24, 2020 through September 7, 2020. DPR operated 23 outdoor swimming pools at 15 locations.

Audit Findings and Conclusion

This audit found that while DPR generally operated and maintained its outdoor swimming pools in a safe manner, there were exceptions that increased risks to the health and safety of pool patrons and DPR staff members. During our observations, we found that the pool water was clear, the chlorine and pH readings were generally within DOHMH’s acceptable levels, necessary signs were posted and the necessary lifesaving equipment was generally on deck, although certain obsolete equipment was also improperly present at some locations. Further, we found that AMPS contained work orders for 40 (95 percent) of the 42 health code violations that DOHMH Inspectors had issued to DPR. Additionally, our review of the FPO Reports found that pool staff generally recorded the hourly chlorine and pH readings for the pools we visited, as required.

However, we also found certain deficiencies and operational weaknesses that DPR should address. Through our visits to a sample of 37 outdoor pool locations during the 2019 summer pool season, we found 43 deficiencies that, based on DOHMH’s established criteria, we identified as critical issues. These include a high chlorine reading at one location, tripping hazards, and damaged rescue tubes. In 2020, we revisited 7 of those pools and found that 10 of the 21 issues previously identified at those locations were still not remediated.

We also found that DPR staff did not consistently record work orders in AMPS as required for issues that pool staff noted on Pool Opening Inspection Check Lists, Daily Pool Reports, and FPO Reports (pool documents). We found that AMPS contained no records of work orders for 5 (17 percent) of the 29 sampled conditions requiring repair that pool staff noted on the pool documents. In addition, the lists of lifesaving equipment in many of the pools’ mandated Safety Plans have not been updated for at least 20 years. Consequently, those plans include some flotation devices that DPR no longer uses, but do not include the required quantities of the flotation devices currently in use.

We also found that FPOs did not consistently record readings for certain required categories of water quality and pool operation tests. Of the 425 FPO Reports we reviewed, 280 (66 percent) had shortcomings; each either did not have one or more pieces of information, or lacked evidence of a required supervisor’s sign-off on the water testing.

Under other matters, we observed potentially dangerous filter plant conditions that may pose health and safety risks to DPR’s pool staff at the Jackie Robinson Pool and the Astoria Pool and found that DPR’s website and individual pool webpages did not always reflect accurate pool information.

Audit Recommendations

Based on our findings, we make 14 recommendations, including:

• DPR should improve controls to ensure that staff add work order requests for all issues that require a skilled tradesperson to perform the repair into AMPS.
• DPR should update Safety Plans for all pools and submit them to NYSDOH and DOHMH for review and approval.
• DPR should establish written standards in its Operations Manual on how and how often FPOs should: record the air temperatures during the day, complete and record the results of the calcium hardness and total alkalinity tests, record the flow meter readings, and record the locations where the water tests are taken around the pool.
• DPR should inspect the filter plants at Jackie Robinson Pool and Astoria Pool, identify the source(s) of the leaks, and correct the issues.
• DPR should maintain and update its website and its individual pool webpages with current and accurate pool related information, including temporary pool closures for each day.

Agency Response

In its response, DPR generally agreed with all 14 recommendations.